


of moons & meteors

by minkit



Category: ENHYPEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Kiss, Happy Ending, M/M, birds can do it we can do it, falling in love is such an easy thing to do, heeseung and jungwon are stepbros in this, jakehoon is established, jay vs heeseung one-sided rivalry, lets fall in love, lets stop talking lets get to it, slight angst, talk of outer space by someone who only did simple google searches, yes thats from secret life of an american teenager
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:29:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27197168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minkit/pseuds/minkit
Summary: The last thing Jay wanted was to be forced to do a project with his ultimate rival Lee Heeseung.However, Heeseung's little brother Jungwon... might be interesting enough to change his mind.
Relationships: Park Jongseong | Jay/Yang Jungwon
Comments: 50
Kudos: 317





	of moons & meteors

**Author's Note:**

> err, i tried my best on this. I still think its good? I'm not gonna lie, the ending is kinda rushed. It was going so smooth and then belift dropped the damn trailer 2 on us and all my brain wants to write is vampires & werewolves (and yes... i shall be writing a vampire/werewolf au and ive got LOTS of ideas) so im sorry if its not as good as my sunki and jakehoon fic :( but i really tried my best and had a super hard time with the ending, i kinda just wanted it over with
> 
> but i still hope you guys like it!!!

“I don’t want to…” Jay groaned, his pillow muffling his voice from where it was on top of his head, and then with the added blanket that he had tossed over his entire body, it was a surprise that Sunghoon could even hear him. Except maybe it's more that Sunghoon could probably guess what Jay was saying since Jay had been saying the same thing for the last two days.

“You have to.” Sunghoon was clearly holding back his laughter as he spoke, flinging the blanket off of Jay and snatching the pillow from his face. Jay glared up at his friend, but there was no real anger behind his gaze. But he hated the fact that Sunghoon was finding such amusement in Jay’s pain. “Just go over there, do the project, and then you’re done. What’s so bad about that?”

“Maybe the fact that I hate him and being around him is going to cause me physical pain.” Jay mumbled and huffed and tried to grab the pillow back from Sunghoon, but his friend tossed it across the room onto his bed.

“You do  _ not _ hate Heeseung.” Sunghoon sighed at him, shaking his head.

“No… you’re right, I don’t hate Heeseung. Because he’s so damn  _ likable  _ that it makes it impossible to hate him which makes me hate him even more!” Jay groaned and just rolled over onto his stomach, pouting. He knew he was acting like a whiny baby, but he just really did not want to have to do this project with Heeseung.

What sort of cruel fate had the world given him? Why must he be partnered up in the one class he had to share with Heeseung, his ultimate rival since childhood? He had been lucky during his teen years that Heeseung was a year older, so they didn’t have to share classes, but now that they were in college (and of course… they had chosen the same college), they ended up sharing a course and now they had a  _ project  _ together and he knew Heeseung was going to be so damn nice about it and goddamnit--Jay really wished he could say Heeseung was a bad person because that would really help Jay defend his hatred towards him.

His hatred was actually really just an inferiority complex because Heeseung had always just been the  _ tiniest  _ bit better than him but Jay preferred to not talk about that.

“Well, unless you want to fail, you’re going to have to get up and go do this project.” Jay didn’t budge. “Okay, well, I tried the nice way. I bet  _ Heeseung  _ doesn’t have a problem working with you and I’m sure  _ Heeseung  _ will be able to do the project all on his own and get himself a great grade while you’re restuck having to do the course again next year because you’re too big of a chicken to go work with him.”

A beat.

Jay sat up, sighing heavily as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Fine. You made your point. Are you happy?” 

Sunghoon smirked. “Very. Now get up, go shower, and go see your ultimate rival so you can do this project and then come back and pout about.”

“I don’t pout.” Jay pouted before stretching himself out, standing to grab some clean clothes. “Now how about you? You gonna go hang out with Jake?” It was Jay’s turn to shoot his friend a look who stood there with his eyes wide and purposefully innocent looking.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sunghoon stated, his voice clearly lying and then he smiled, picking up his bag. “But yes, I am leaving. And don’t wait up for me.” 

Jay snickered and shook his head as Sunghoon walked out the door. “I never do wait up.” He murmured to himself and then left to go shower and face his impending doom. 

The fact that Heeseung’s house was just a middle class house with no real extravagance was another reason to piss Jay off because he couldn’t even hate the guy for being a rich snob, especially when Jay was actually the one more well off. As he had told Sunghoon, Heeseung was just so damn likable. Everyone liked Heeseung, everyone had always liked Heeseung. He was nice and kind and so damn talented and good at everything that everyone always had wanted to be his friend. 

And Jay had always kind of felt like he was in his shadow. 

If Jay did something, well Heeseung had done it the year before and had done it  _ better _ . If Jay had a good idea, Heeseung had thought of it first. If Jay decided to throw a party and invite people, well they were going to Heeseung’s party because he had asked them first and even though Jay’s place was  _ way  _ more impressive, they could never let Heeseung down!

So yeah. You could say Jay had a bit of an inferiority complex when it came to the guy. 

Jay was pretty sure he’d been standing outside of Heeseung’s house for a good five minutes before he worked up the nerve to actually go up to the door. He basically bounced on his heels, trying to calm himself down and then let out a breath before ringing the bell. It was only a few moments before the door answered and Heeseung was there, standing before him in all of his smiling, kindly glory.

“You made it!” Heeseung stated, opening the door wider to let Jay in. “You haven’t been here in awhile so I was kind of worried you would get lost on your way, but glad to see you didn’t.”

Heeseung was  _ worried  _ about him. 

God he hated this guy. 

“Uh, yeah, no, I didn’t get lost.” He slipped off his shoes.

“I have everything set up already in the living room so we can make use of all the space. My room has been a bit cramped lately, but nobody should bother us. My parents are out today anyway.” Heeseung led the way to the living room and Jay sighed at the sight of, as Heeseung had said, literally any and everything they could possibly need laid out on the coffee table.

“You’re… really organized.” Jay dropped his bag next to the table and Heeseung smiled as if he had been complimented. Jay hadn’t really meant it as one, but whatever, he supposed. 

“Thanks, are you thirsty? Do you want some water or a soda? It’s pretty hot out today.” 

Jay clenched his jaw and grinned. “No thank you.” 

“Alright, well--” a beep went off through the house and Heeseung looked up. “Oh, I’ll be right back. My mom asked me to do the laundry, I have to go put them in the dryer.” Heeseung hurried off and Jay stared at the spot where he had previously stood before sighing and dropping onto the couch.

Even doing the laundry for his mom. Yup, the guy was an angel. 

A few minutes later, Heeseung came back and settled on the couch next to Jay, who scooted a bit further away so they weren’t as close. If Heeseung noticed, he didn’t mention anything.

“I was kind of putting this course off. History isn’t one of my better subjects.” Heeseung stated sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck.

Jay stared at him. “You have the highest grade in the class…” Heeseung blinked and then looked embarrassed, clearing his throat as he pulled a book from the table.

“Okay, so I’ll start with these and you with those? And we’ll share our ideas on what we can do for the project if we come up with one?” Jay sighed and agreed, grabbing one of the many books from the table to flip through until he hopefully came up with something.

The two of them fell into silence, every once in a while sharing an idea that popped into their minds. They wrote down the good ones and dropped the rest. Jay wanted to come up with the better idea, but his brain was offering up few very not good projects. 

After about an hour or so, they both finally settled on an idea (Jay begrudgingly accepted that Heeseung had the better idea. If he was a worse person, he could fight until one of his were chosen, but he wanted to pass the class and Heeseung’s was just the better choice period). With at least that portion done, the two of them took a break and Jay finally accepted the soda, deciding to put his contempt for Heeseung aside because he was thirsty.

It was as good a reason as any, he supposed. Sunghoon would be very proud of him.

Heeseung also brought out some cookies that he had apparently made the day before and while Jay at first fought the desire to munch right into them, he gave up after about a minute because they just looked so damn good. 

Jay wanted to cry about how perfect Heeseung was. He was pretty sure if his mom ever met Heeseung, he’d probably want Jay to marry him just so she could have him as a son, and wasn’t that just everything a person needed to know about Heeseung?

After their short break, they decided to get back to work and just as Jay started to read up on their chosen time frame in history, the door slammed open and in came a boy running in, halting to a sudden stop when he saw Heeseung and Jay sitting there.

“Jungwon, I thought you were going to be out today?” Heeseung asked the boy who Jay thought looked slightly familiar, but he couldn’t exactly place. “Wait, are you crying?” Heeseung suddenly stood, hurrying over and Jay looked closer at the boy’s face.

His eyes had a red, somewhat wet look to them. The boy, Jungwon apparently, rubbed beneath his nose, quickly shaking his head and taking a step back. It was clear he hadn’t expected anyone to be home when he came running in. 

“I’m okay.” Except his voice was shaky and it was clear that he wasn’t okay. Jay couldn’t help but feel slightly worried as well, wondering what had happened to this kid to make him so clearly upset.

“Are you sure? Is there anything I can do…?” Heeseung asked, his voice thick with worry.

“No, I’m just… going to go up to my room. Sorry for disturbing you both.” Jungwon apologized to the two of them, his eyes hovering on Jay for a moment and there was a recognition in his eyes before Jungwon turned and went upstairs.

“I’m sorry about that.” Heeseung stated, turning towards him with a frown. “That’s my brother, Jungwon. I guess something happened.”

“You have a brother?” Jay asked, racking his brain as he tried to think back. He couldn’t remember Heeseung ever having a brother.

“Step. Our parents just got married this year, but they’d been dating for years before that. But he’s like a real brother to me anyway.” Heeseung sighed as he sat back down on the couch next to Jay. “I’ll try talking to him later, I guess. But you don’t remember him? He was just a few grades below you. Yang Jungwon? He was on the taekwondo team.”

And suddenly it clicked in Jay’s head where he recognized him from. He’d gone to one of the school’s taekwondo meets a few years back, when he was still in high school. But Jungwon had been much smaller back then, looking more like a baby to Jay than the seventeen year old he clearly was now. Jay remembered being impressed that someone so small could be so fierce. 

Jay hummed, glancing towards the staircase before going back to the project. It wasn’t any of his business anyway.

After a few hours, both of them decided they needed another break. Jay used the restroom, washing his face quickly in order to wake him up with the cool water. When he exited the bathroom, Heeseung was nowhere to be seen, but his younger brother Jungwon was standing in the kitchen, leaning against a counter as he scrolled through his phone and snacked on a cookie.

Something in Jay, perhaps a curiosity, had him walking into the kitchen, nonchalantly grabbing a cup of water as he watched Jungwon out of the corner of his eye. He sipped at his water and slowly walked around, grabbing a cookie from the plate as well, not failing to notice the way Jungwon almost seemed to stiffen the closer he got. 

“So…” Jay started, trying not to sound too weird or awkward. “What’s it like being Heeseung’s brother?”

Jungwon paused mid bite before quickly chewing it and swallowing it, glancing up at him. “Hyung’s? Uh…” Jungwon looked a little unsure at first. “He’s been a good brother to me. Honestly, I couldn’t really ask for a better one. Most people don’t take a new step-sibling moving into their house as well as he did.”

“I’m not surprised.” Jay stated, and he really wasn’t. Of course Heeseung would be a good brother on top of everything else. But he supposed it was a good thing--it wasn’t like he was wishing ill on Jungwon just because Jay wished Heeseung had  _ some  _ sort of fault to him. 

The younger boy nodded slightly before looking up at him again. “I’m sorry… what was your name?”

“Huh? Oh--oh,” Jay cleared his throat, turning towards him in slight embarrassment. “I’m Jay. I’m doing a project with your brother… I was a couple years ahead of you in school, but a year below Heeseung hyung.”

“Oh…” Jungwon gave a slight nod and took another bite of his cookie. “Actually, I think I remember you. Except you wore glasses and had acne.”

Jay coughed into his hand, feeling a warmth spread up his neck. “Uh… yeah.”

He could hear the younger boy giggle and glanced over at him, his fox-shaped eyes sparkling with mischievousness. Interesting. “It’s okay, we all had acne.” Jungwon assured, giving his arm a small pat. “Except I didn’t also have glasses.”

“You…” Jay couldn’t help but grin and laugh a little. Somehow the teasing bearable coming from someone like this. “Anyway, I wanted to see if you were okay…” Jungwon lost his smile, looking down. “You looked upset when you came in.”

“I’m okay…” Jungwon told him softly and then sighed. “Actually, I had just found out my girlfriend has been cheating on me for a month. Well, I guess she’s my ex-girlfriend now.” Jungwon rolled his eyes a little, sighing out heavily.

“Oh, well, I’ve been there.” Jay told him, resting his arms behind himself on the counter as Jungwon looked at him in surprise. “A couple of times actually. I don’t know, I try my best to be a good boyfriend, but they always end up leaving me for some dingbat.”

“Dingbat?” Jungwon bit on his lip, holding back a laugh and Jay gave him a small grin. “That’s an interesting term.”

“Well, that’s what they are.” To Jay, something about the fact that he was able to make this obviously sad boy laugh made him feel good and warm. “But seriously, it’s that girl’s fault. Clearly she has shit taste if she’d cheat on someone like you. I remember seeing you at taekwondo meets--you’re terrifying!”

Jungwon shook his head but he was grinning, his cheeks painting pink. “I’m not.”

“No, you are.” Jay told him, pressing his hand into the counter firmly as if to make his point. “Honestly, if I were you, I’d probably consider beating that other guy up too. Since it doesn’t seem like you have, you must clearly be a better person than me.”

  
“Well…” Jungwon said slowly with a sly smile on his face. “I might have considered it.” The sly smile became a regular smile, showing off the younger boy’s dimples, deep within his cheeks. Jay almost wanted to reach forward and poke them, but that would be really weird so he stopped that urge in its track.

“Like I said… better person than I am.” He gave Jungwon a small nudge who hid his smile by stuffing the rest of the cookie he was holding into his mouth. “But I have a lot of experience in the romance department, so if you ever need any experience, you can totally come to Jay hyung. I’m way cooler and better than your bro Heeseung at stuff like this, I can assure you of that.” 

“I don’t know.” Jungwon doubted, his eyes looking Jay over thoughtfully. “Heeseung hyung is pretty cool and hard to beat.”

Jay pointed at himself, puffing out his chest just a little to make himself more appealing. “Well on this subject, I’m better.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Jungwon stated, but he was still smiling, clearly teasing and Jay couldn’t help but to smile back, wondering how the hell someone so cute could exist in such close proximity to Heeseung and as Heeseung’s biggest rival, he hadn’t known. 

“Then I’ll just have to prove it to you.” Jay didn’t really know what he was saying, but the words were coming out of his mouth and now that he said them, he knew he would have to do it.

“I don’t know how you’re going to do that, but I wish you luck.” Jungwon stated, staring into his eyes and Jay almost felt his knees go a little weak. It was ridiculous how much sparkle this boy’s eyes held, and he wondered if he had ever seen a shape prettier than the eyes that were looking at him right then.

Someone cleared their throat over by the door and both Jay and Jungwon looked over, seeing Heeseung looking a little awkward in the doorway. “Jay--we going to continue this project?”

“R-right!” Jay cleared his throat and turned away from the smaller boy next to him. “I was just talking to Jungwon--to your brother.”

Jungwon bowed his head a little and grabbed another cookie from the plate with a nervous laugh. “I’m going to go back to my room. It was nice meeting you.” He glanced up and then quickly hurried passed his brother and back to the stairs leaving Jay and Heeseung alone in the kitchen, Jay staring after Jungwon with curiosity and Heeseung staring at Jay questioningly.

“Lets uhm--get back to that project.” Jay shot Heeseung a smile and went and dropped down, grabbing the open book that he had abandoned in favor of Jungwon. 

\--

**garden_sheep just followed you on instagram!**

Jay stared at the notification on his phone for a good few moments before he clicked on the profile attached, being taken to a profile full of pictures of Jungwon, his friends, and random scenery that he had apparently thought was pretty. He clicked on his stories, the latest one being of him trying to attract a kitten, but unfortunately having no luck. He could hear the pout in the younger boy’s voice as the story ended and he couldn’t help but laugh.

He hit follow without a second’s hesitation and then went into the DMs to send Jungwon a message. 

**pjay02:** u stalking me? 

It only took a moment for a reply to come.

**garden_sheep:** =)

**garden_sheep:** does being stalked bother you? I was curious about what you said earlier.

**pjay02:** what did i say earlier?

**garden_sheep:** how youre better at the romance stuff than heeseung hyung

Jay suddenly sat up in his bed and adjusted so that he was leaning back against the wall. It was late, but he didn’t have to worry about Sunghoon being bothered as Jay switched on the light. Sunghoon really hadn’t come home. He was probably staying the night with Jake. 

The response got Jay unsure of how to reply. If it was from some girl or pretty much anyone else other than Heeseung’s younger brother, he would’ve thought he was being flirted with. But surely not. 

Right?

**garden_sheep:** hyung?

**pjay02:** sorry

**pjay02:** y were u thinking about that stuff?

**garden_sheep:** i want you to show me how you’re better. You said you’re better so it must be easy for you to show me exactly how right?

**pjay02:** i guess it wouldn’t be all that hard

**garden_sheep:** good then its a date

Jay choked at the sudden statement, having to reread it at least five times to make sure that he was actually reading it correctly. But he had. It was right there. The word ‘date’ written on his screen and Jungwon, Heeseung’s little brother, the one who had said it to him. As in talking about a date with him. As in the two of them going on a date.  _ Together _ .

Wait, what?

Maybe Jay was just misunderstanding this entire thing. Sometimes that happened.

**pjay02:** date????????????

**garden_sheep:** yeah a date.

**garden_sheep:** what better way than for me to understand how this romance stuff works and you showing me that you’re better at it than heeseung hyung than by bringing me on a date?

**garden_sheep:** =)

Jay wasn’t entirely sure if this was actually a logical conclusion for a person to come to, especially since he highly doubted that Jungwon would ask Heeseung on a date to prove how good  _ he  _ was at romance.

Lots of thoughts were racing through his mind. The first being,  _ what the fuck _ ? The second being,  _ how the fuck? _ And the third being,  _ where the hell am I supposed to take Jungwon on a date? _

**pjay02:** ur pulling my leg right? Heeseung put u up to this right?

**garden_sheep:** no

**garden_sheep:** =(

**pjay02:** oh

**garden_sheep:** so is this a no? Youre too scared to take me on a date?

**pjay02:** im not scared!

**garden_sheep:** great!! Pick me up at 7pm tomorrow! Bye i gotta go! 

Jay blinked, staring at his phone dms in shock. What the fuck had just happened and how had he ended up having a date with Yang Jungwon, his ultimate rival’s little brother?

\--

“Sunghoon, get up.” Sunghoon groaned and rolled over, tugging his blanket up over his head. Jay sighed and rolled his eyes. Was this how it felt for Sunghoon yesterday? “Dude, it’s almost one pm and I need your help, get  _ up _ .” Jay grabbed the edge of the blanket, tugging it off of his friend and tossing it aside.

The other male sighed and rolled over onto his back, laying there and just staring at the ceiling. “I need to move out.”

“Yeah, well until you and Jake can get your own place--thank god for that idea by the way, it’s a great one--I need you to help me with something.” Jay walks back over to his own bed, plopping down on it as he waits for Sunghoon to wake up and be aware enough to actually be of any help.

Sunghoon yawned, covering his mouth. “I got in so late last night it was practically early and you wake me up to help you with something I’m guessing is dumb.” Jay gave him a small glare. 

“It’s your own fault. You shouldn’t have stayed out so late. Or at least just stayed at Jake’s dorm.”

“His roommate gets annoyed when I do that.”

“Can’t imagine why…” Jay muttered under his breath. “Anyway, I accidentally sort of kind of have a date tonight and I need help figuring out what I should do for it.”

Silence and then Sunghoon sat up, looking at him in shock. “You have a date? All of a sudden? What did you meet someone over at Heeseung’s house yesterday?”

Jay cleared his throat with an awkward laugh. “Sort of? Jungwon sort of trapped me into taking him on a date tonight--don’t even ask what happened, because I’m still not sure about it myself.”

“Jungwon?” Sunghoon questioned, his eyes wide and confused. “Heeseung’s brother?”

“Now how did you know Heeseung suddenly had a new step-brother and I didn’t?” Jay huffed, annoyed that he was so out of the loop.

“Because I’m actually friends with Heeseung.” Sunghoon pointed out and Jay rolled his eyes with a small shrug. “A seventeen year old trapped you into taking him on a date? I don’t understand how that works but I think it’s hilarious and sure, I’ll help you come up with something.” Suddenly Sunghoon was chuckling to himself so Jay picked up his pillow and tossed it across the room at Sunghoon’s head.

Unfortunately, Sunghoon caught it just in time and quickly tossed it back at him and it smacked Jay straight in the face. He groaned and threw the pillow on the floor, glaring at it for betraying him.

“You’re such a good friend.” Jay commented dryly. “So I was thinking dinner and a mov--”

“No.” Sunghoon stated before Jay even got the chance to finish speaking.

“No?” 

“No.” He reiterated. “A movie is a horrible first date. You can’t talk during it, you’re sitting there in silence and chances are at least one of you are going to hate the movie and not enjoy yourself. It’s fine for later in the relationship when you’re not trying to get to know each other. But the first date has to be perfect.”

Jay blinked at him. “Okay… you are good at this.”

Sunghoon smiled. “Well, I have had a boyfriend for two years and you…” his voice trailed off, but his point was clear. Jay waved him on to continue. “You want to do something fun that you both will like. Do you know anything about him?”

“No…” Jay stated slowly, trying to think back to the very brief conversation they had. “Other than he did taekwondo back in school, not really.” He thought for a moment before pulling out his phone and getting on Instagram.

Sunghoon got up from his bed, going to sit next to him after grabbing the pillow from the floor to hug it. “What are you doing?”

“Stalking his IG. I kinda glanced at it last night.” Jay pulled his legs up onto the bed, crossing them as he began scrolling. There were a lot of pictures of him with his friends, many pictures outdoors, but the more Jay scrolled, the more he began seeing pictures of games and taken in arcades.

“Huh, so he likes to play…” Sunghoon stated, glancing over at Jay. “I think I know where you need to take him.”

\--

“You have a motorbike?” Jungwon blinked in surprise as he walked outside of his house. Jay sat on his motorbike, holding out a helmet towards the younger boy who slowly stepped forward, looking at it somewhat nervously. “I’ve never been on one before.”

“All you have to do is hold on.” Jay told him, reaching up to help strap the helmet under his chin after Jungwon had placed it on him. Once it was clipped in place, their eyes caught and Jay quickly cleared his throat, patting the seat behind him. “Hop on.”

Jungwon placed his hands on Jay’s shoulders slightly hesitantly, swinging one leg over until he was straddling the bike and clutching at the back of Jay’s shirt. Jay couldn’t help but smile to himself, because in all honesty, he felt like he was in one of those cliche movies as he grabbed Jungwon’s arm and wrapped it around his waist.

“You’re going to need to hold on. Tightly.” He told him, glancing over his shoulder at the nervous looking boy who then shifted a little bit closer, wrapping both arms around his stomach and linking his hands to hold onto him. 

Once Jay was confident that Jungwon was secure, he kicked off, speeding down the street towards their location. Jungwon’s arms tightened around him and he could just barely hear his gasp as Jay dodged between cars. Jay had to admit; the way that Jungwon was clinging onto him and trusting him with his life did feel good.

It only took about ten minutes to get to their destination. When they did, he parked and let Jungwon get off before he too got off the bike. He took the helmet from the younger boy, and put it away along with his. 

“That was wild.” Jungwon stated, his voice sounding excited as he spoke. “I’ve never done anything like that. Honestly, my parents would probably kill me if they knew I had gotten on one of these things.”

Jay gave a small smile and reached forward, fixing Jungwon’s hair that had gotten messed up through the ride. Jungwon stared at him with wide eyes and Jay quickly pulled back his hand, realizing what he was doing. “Uh, yeah, my parents weren’t all that happy with me when I got it. I think they’re over it, though they still don’t like it. More like they know they can’t get me to stop driving it.”

“It was fun.” Jungwon told him and then looked around. “An arcade?”

“Not just any arcade.” Jay swung his arm around the younger male and started leading him towards the entrance. “But a monster-sized one.”

The arcade was indeed massive. Sunghoon had apparently gone there once with Jake and they’d spent a good four hours just messing around and playing games before they even realized what time it had gotten to be. Every turn of the head had games from simple fighting games to virtual reality. In the back there was even a mini-golf course and go-karts racing, plus a full concession with anything from Korean street foods to burgers and pizzas.

Jay had to admit. The place was pretty damn dope.

“I don’t even know where to begin.” Jungwon stated, looking to be at a loss as he peered around at the many games surrounding him, but the moment he finished saying so, he went off towards a specific game that seemed to catch his eye. “Wait, I want to play this.” He stated with a grin up at Jay.

Jay didn’t know why, but that grin had him feeling a little weak. “Let me go get some tokens.” He told him and hurried off to go exchange some money. A few minutes later he game back and handed Jungwon a few tokens then took the opposite side of them and they began to play.

Something Jay was learning about Jungwon; not only was he a blackbelt of taekwondo in real life, he was an excellent fighter in games as well.

It was slightly frustrating because no matter what special combo move Jay seemed to use against Jungwon in the game, the other always seemed to be able to move or outmatch him. He could hear Jungwon’s laughter from next to him and reached over, trying to block his view for even just the briefest moment to get the edge up on him.

“Hey! That’s cheating!” but Jungwon was laughing as he pushed Jay’s arm away and Jay laughed in return, buckling down and trying for a last power kick, except Jungwon’s character blocked it and then punched Jay up into the air, followed by kick after kick and then slammed him back to the ground, K.O.-ing Jay’s character.

Jay groaned as he leaned away from the machine after his fifth time losing in a row and looked at the smug looking teenager next to him. “You’re way too good at this.”

“I’ve had a lot of practice.” Jungwon snickered, taking his tickets that shot out of the game. He had a fairly good sized pile by now. “Shall we move on to the next one?”

“So that you can whip my ass at these games even more?” Jay gave an overly exasperated sigh, but he didn’t mind. He was actually having fun. Jungwon smiled and the two of them walked over to a solo racing game, both of them sliding into the chairs. “Okay, so these are just solo, but how about we choose the same track and play at the same time and the winner takes all the tickets from this game?”

Jungwon hummed for a moment, thinking about it, before he nodded and placed his hands on the wheel. “It’s a deal. You’re on.” He leaned forward. “And you’re going to lose.”

Jay’s breath caught for a slight moment at the intensity of his stare before he shook it off and smirked back. “We’ll see, little sheep garden.”

By the time over an hour had passed, the two of them had both amassed quite a collection of tickets to the point it was actually getting difficult to carry them around easily. Jay did his best to organize them, eventually having to go up to the prize booth to ask for a couple of bags to put them in.

“Are you hungry?” Jay asked after they had played a few more games. Jungwon looked up and just as he opened his mouth, his stomach gave a loud growl. The younger boy blushed red in embarrassment and Jay held back his laugh. “I’ll buy you dinner. Do you want to eat here?”

“Eating here is fine.” Jungwon replied and followed Jay over to the concession stand, which was more like an actual restaurant area within the arcade, than an actual stand or booth.

The two of them slid into the seats at a table close to a corner, stuffing their bags of tickets underneath the table by their feet. There was a table menu to look at as they waited for the waiter to come take their order.

“Want to share a pizza?” Jay asked after glancing over the menu briefly. Jungwon nodded eagerly and once the waiter finally came, Jay put in their food and drink order and leaned back into his chair, looking at Jungwon curiously.

Jungwon seemed almost hunched into himself, his shoulders raised as he pressed his hands in between his knees. “What is it…?” He questioned, noticing Jay’s staring.

Jay just shrugged and rested his arms on the table, peering across at him. “Just don’t know why you needed me to take you on a date to show you about romance and prove to you I’m better than Heeseung hyung at it. Though I feel like I failed at the romance thing. This is more like just a fun hang-out between friends.”

“Honestly, I really enjoy just this fun hang-out between friends.” Jungwon admitted, messing with a napkin on the table. “After yesterday… I could use getting out. Otherwise I would just be in my room, thinking about things.”

“Right…” he let out a small sigh, looking at the boy across from him, noticing the way his lips turned downwards into a frown. “Do you want to… talk about it or something? I’m actually a pretty good listener.”

Jungwon glanced up, his rounded eyes fading off to a sharp point at the corners. They reminded Jay of dew drops. 

“It wasn’t anything that serious.” Jungwon tells him slowly, crumbling the napkin in between his fingers. “But it still kind of hurt. It also made me wonder if I had done something wrong, because if I hadn’t, then why would she cheat on me, you know?”

“That’s--” Jay shook his head, reaching across the table to place his hand atop Jungwon’s, stilling his movements. “That’s not how it works. She cheated on you because she’s just not a good person. And I might not know you all that well just yet, but I can tell you are a good one. And anyone would be lucky to date you.”

Jungwon blinked at him, looking surprised at the words that Jay had spoken. Jay was a little surprised himself, but he had meant every single word. “Thank you…” Jungwon told him softly, and Jay pulled his hand back just as their food was brought out. 

“Looks good.” Jay cleared himself, trying to remove any awkwardness between the two of them as he took a slice of pizza. Jungwon hummed and nodded.

“So does that mean you’re lucky?” Jungwon asks, taking a bite of pizza, the cheese stringing from the slice to his mouth.

“Lucky for what?” 

“Because you said anyone would be lucky to date me and you’re on a date with me. So that makes you lucky.” The younger boy replies innocently and Jay chokes on his slice for a moment before he manages to look up, seeing Jungwon peer at him with a slight smile on his face. 

“I-I guess that’s technically true. I guess I am lucky.” He said slowly, watching as the smile on Jungwon’s face turned into a full on beam before he took another bite.

“I hope you don’t have a girlfriend or anything.” Jungwon stated and Jay quickly sipped his soda. “I’d hate to be going on a date with someone who is already taken, especially after everything I just went through. Wouldn’t want to be that person.”

Jay was tempted to point out how this wasn’t actually a real date, but something inside of him told him it was better to not say that. “Not currently.” He answered finally. “Single and ready to mingle.” He paused, wanting to hit himself. Had he really just said that?

But Jungwon laughed, seeming to find amusement in it. “So what are you studying in school? I know you share a history course with Heeseung hyung, but other than that, I don’t really know.”

“Business.” Jay answered, wiping his hands on a napkin. “I have to take over the family business.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Jay quickly shook his head. “I know the cliche is to be bothered by that, but I don’t really mind. There’s nothing else I really particularly want to do and my dad has worked hard on his business. I’d hate to have to see him give it up to someone one day when I’m right here.”

“That’s… actually pretty amazing and selfless.” Jungwon told him and Jay felt warm at the compliment. “Not many people want to take over the family business. Sure there are some but… in books and movies and shows it’s always the opposite.”

“Well what about you?” Jay asked in turn, taking another slice. “Are you planning on doing something with taekwondo?”

“You know, I’m really good at it, but there’s not much you can do with it as a career unless you want to coach others on it and that doesn’t really call to me.” Jungwon shrugged. “I’m not sure what I want to do.”

“You still have time to figure it out.” Jay assured him.

“I start college next spring. I’m starting to run out of that time.” Jungwon sighed, appearing troubled by this fact. “I suppose I have a few interests. I like space a lot.”

“Space?” Jay raised his brows. “As in… planets and stars?”

Jungwon nodded, his smile enthusiastic. “The celestial cosmos… I don’t know, I heard that description once as a child and ever since then I’ve been kind of obsessed. Maybe I should go into astronomy. I am fairly good in all my science classes.”

“Sounds like you have an idea of what you can do.” Jay points out and Jungwon nods, humming thoughtfully. 

After they finish eating, the two of them decide to play a few more games before calling it a night and heading over to the prize store. They get their tickets counted and set off wandering around the little section, eyeing the variety of prizes that they can purchase with their won tickets.

“That’s so cute.” Jay turned, looking towards what Jungwon was looking up at. A life-size cat plushie with brown fur that looked silky soft to the touch and striking green eyes.

“How much is it?” Jay asked.

“More than I have.” Jungwon pouted a little and then shrugged. “It’s okay though. I just think it’s cute.” He turned, wandering off to go look at the other prizes. 

Jay quickly looked at the price of the cat and pursed his lips. It was more than he had. He glanced over at Jungwon then took the cat off the wall, bringing it up to the cashier booth where a bored looking worker stood.

“Okay, here’s the deal,” Jay stated as he set the cat on the counter. “I have about a hundred less tickets than I need for this, so how about I give you all my tickets and then ten thousand won on top of that and you give me the cat?”

The worker merely blinked at him.

Jay groaned a little and took out his wallet, pulling out twenty thousand won instead. He held it up, showing the worker who then held out his hand. Jay dropped the won and the tickets in his hand and then took the cat, going over to find Jungwon. 

He found him looking at keychains and Jay came up slowly behind him, leaning down to whisper into his ear. “Got you something.”

Jungwon jumped before realizing who was speaking and then turned around to face him. “Wha--wait. You got me the cat?” Jungwon asked, his eyes wide in confusion as he took the plushie into his hands. “But how? You have even less tickets than I do.”

Jay grinned and stuck his hands in his pockets with a nonchalant shrug, trying to appear cool. “I have my ways.”

The smaller boy smiled, looking at the plushie and then he looked up at Jay, his dew drop shaped eyes sparkling as if they were the sun beaming down on a lake. His eyes really were quite pretty…

“Thank you.” Jungwon told him and then reached up, wrapping an arm around him in a hug, the other clutching at the plushie. Jay noted that Jungwon smelled of something soft and simple--perhaps melon? 

And then Jungwon pulled back, hugging the plushie even tighter. “Let me get something for you then. To repay you for getting me this.”

At first, Jay thought of denying the offer but then he spied the keychains that Jungwon had been looking at originally. “How about this? I think you have enough to get two.” He reached forward, pulling a sheep shaped keychain off the rack and holding it up by Jungwon’s head. “Looks exactly like you!”   
  
Jungwon laughed and shook his head. “Okay, well this looks like you.” He took one off the rack as well, holding it out to Jay.

“An eagle? I think I can live with that.” Jay nodded and they both agreed on their keychains, going back up to the counter to buy them with Jungwon’s tickets, leaving him only a few left. They decided to save them for next time. 

Jay snapped his keychain onto his keyset and helped Jungwon do the same as the two of them headed back out to his motorbike. “Are you going to be okay to hold onto that while I’m driving?” He asked, nodding towards the cat.

“I’m sure it’ll be okay.” Jungwon said but he was looking at the cat a little nervously. Though it wasn’t super huge, it was still a good-sized plushie and would take up the use of one arm.

“I’ll go slower.” Jay promised and helped Jungwon put on the helmet before putting his own on and hopping onto his bike. He took the cat to hold while Jungwon got situated behind him before handing it back. “Just hold on super tightly.” He took Jungwon’s arm that was wrapped around him and adjusted his hand so that it was gripping onto Jay’s jacket. “Don’t be afraid to clutch onto my clothes.”

“I won’t be afraid.” Jungwon said softly from behind him, scooting a bit more forward so that he was pressed right up against Jay’s back, his arm squeezing around him as tightly as he could without it being too harsh. 

Jay tried not to think about it, but he had to admit silently to himself he quite liked the feeling of Jungwon clinging onto him like this, and he liked it even more when the younger boy leaned his head against his back.

It took a few minutes longer to reach Jungwon’s house as Jay drove slower than he had on the way to the arcade. Not only because Jungwon only had one arm to use, but also because he was enjoying the feeling of being clung to too much to want it to be over so soon. 

But eventually they arrived and Jay stopped his bike against the curb outside of the house. At first, Jay had thought Jungwon had actually fallen asleep on the short ride because the younger boy wasn’t moving, but eventually Jungwon pulled back and slowly hopped off the bike. He handed Jay the cat for a moment and took off his helmet, putting it back into its spot beneath the seat and then took back the plushie that Jay had won him.

“I had a lot of fun.” Jungwon told him, his arms around the plushie and looking every bit the innocent teenager that he tried to pass himself off to be, but something inside Jay told him there was more to Jungwon than that.

“I’m glad you had fun. Actually, I had fun too.”

“Actually?” Jungwon asked with a small laugh. “Weren’t expecting to?”

“Well…” Jay trailed off, chuckling to himself. “You were cool to hang out with.”

“You were too.” The younger replied and then looked at him for a moment. But before Jay could even realize what was happening, Jungwon was leaning in and Jay felt the distinct press of lips against his cheek.

They hovered there for a moment before Jungwon pulled back, leaving Jay staring at him with wide eyes and the part of his cheek feeling as if it was burning from the touch. Jungwon merely smiled at his shocked reaction and used the plushie’s paw to wave. “Say goodnight to Jay now Jay.”

“H-huh? Goodnight…” he blinked and watched as Jungwon went back inside, tossing him a smile before he disappeared into the house.

Jay just sat there on his bike for a moment, staring at the door to Jungwon and Heeseung’s house and then it hit him.

Did Jungwon just name his plushie Jay?

\--

Jay peered discreetly over his notebook full of project notes that he and Heeseung hyung were working on. They were once again sat in the older boy’s living room and while Jay should be focusing on the project, he couldn’t remove his eyes from Jungwon who sat at the kitchen table with his friend, a somewhat younger Japanese boy who apparently went by the name Ni-Ki. 

The two of them kept looking at each other’s phones, giggling to themselves as they shot each other knowing looks then leaning over to whisper something. They were definitely sharing some kind of secret and for some strange reason, Jay felt like he had indigestion as he watched this.

Now, he wasn’t an idiot. He knew what this feeling was. It was clear jealousy, a feeling that Jay was used to attributing to Heeseung whenever the other boy did practically anything  _ ever _ , what he couldn’t figure out was why was he feeling it as he watched Jungwon interact with his friend.

“Jay--” Heeseung waved his hand in front of his face, snapping his fingers and causing Jay to jump back a bit, startled at the sudden interruption of his thoughts. “You’ve been kind of zoning out a lot today… are you feeling okay? Do we need to reschedule?”

“What? No, no…” he shook his head quickly, trying to assure the other. “I’m okay. Guess I’m just…” his eyes quickly glance over to Jungwon, the sound of his laughter washing into the living room before turning back to Heeseung. “Distracted.”

Heeseung slowly followed to where Jay’s gaze had led him before sighing. “Okay.” Heeseung closed his own book and notebook on his lap, tossing it onto the couch next to him. “Let’s talk.” He grabbed Jay’s arm, tugging him up and out of the house to the front.

“Hey!” he pulled his arm away from the other, straightening out his shirt. “What’s this about?”

The other man sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “You like Jungwonnie don’t you?”

“W-what?” He choked, his voice breaking. “I don’t…” he denied, his words weak even to his own ears.

Heeseung glanced through the window where his brother and brother’s friend could be seen still sitting at the kitchen table. “Be careful with him? The way his relationship literally just ended… and he’s a really good kid.”

“What do you think I’m going to do with him?” Jay asks, a defensive feeling rising up in his chest. “Hurt him?”

“Not intentionally.” Heeseung told him. “If you like him, fine, but don’t lead him on.”

“What even makes you think I like him?” 

“You haven’t stopped staring at him since you walked in the door.” Heeseung pointed out and Jay honestly had no response to that because, as he thought back on it, he realized he really hadn’t stopped staring at Jungwon. He also hadn’t stopped thinking about Jungwon for the four days since their ‘date’. 

“Look,” Heeseung continued when Jay made no move to reply. “I don’t mind, I’m just trying to look out for him. He is my brother after all.” And with that, Heeseung turned and walked back inside of the house, leaving Jay to stand there outside, the windchill causing him to shiver, thinking over what had just been said.

Did Jay like Jungwon? It was possible. He was sweet and cute and it wasn’t like Jay had never thought about other men before, so that whole detail didn’t really bug him. And Jungwon had been the one to ask him on a date and then kissed his cheek at the end of said date… did Jungwon like him?

The idea gave him a headache. There was no possible way to declare one way or another whether Jungwon liked him without asking Jungwon straight out and Jay… wasn’t entirely sure he was  _ that  _ forward. 

Instead, he decided to leave the pondering for another time and headed back inside the living room to see that Heeseung was nowhere around. Figuring the other had just gone off to the bathroom, Jay plopped himself back down on the floor in front of the couch where he had been before Heeseung had pulled him out.

He heard the distinct sound of whispering and murmuring coming from the kitchen and glanced up to see both Jungwon and Ni-Ki looking at him. Upon noticing that Jay had caught them, they both turned back around, speaking to each other quietly.

Jay blinked and looked back down at his notebook, but was having a difficult time concentrating when a shadow was cast over him and he heard the sound of a throat being cleared. 

He looked up to see Jungwon standing in front of him on the opposite side of the coffee table. “I have something to ask you.” Jungwon told him seriously and before Jay could even reply, he came around the table and sat next to him, their shoulders bumping from the closeness.

“Uh, sure?” He said, but it came out more like a question and the younger boy smiled.

“So, you know how I was telling you that I like stars and planets and space?” He asked and Jay gave a small nod, setting down his notebook. “Well on Friday night, more like Saturday morning, about 3am, there’s supposed to be a meteor shower. Now the best place to watch this would be at the top of a hill. I know the perfect location but Ni-Ki can’t go… and I’m kind of scared to go by myself. I was wondering if you might like to come with me…?”

  
  


Jay stared at him, taking a moment to realize what he was just asked. “Sure, when should I pick you up?” Did he just agree to go on another date with Jungwon?

Jungwon beamed, looking excited and like he didn’t expect Jay to say yes at all. “Is 2am okay? I know it's early, but I want to get to the spot and have time to set up our blankets. It’s going to be cold.”

He licked over his lips and then smiled back with a nod. “I’ll be here. I’ll bring some hot drinks.”

“And I’ll bring the blankets.” Jungwon looked at him for a moment longer as he smiled before standing. “I’m going to go back to my friend…” he turned to walk off, tripping a little over the table.

“Careful!” Jay called out and Jungwon flushed, assuring him he was fine before going back into the kitchen, leaving Jay to ponder on the fact he had a second date with Jungwon directly after telling Heeseung that he didn’t have feelings for him.

But Jay was starting to realize that was a lie and maybe he really did have feelings for Jungwon. 

\--

Waking up at 1:15am would’ve been practically impossible except for the fact that Sunghoon had gotten up from his own bed to smack Jay in the head with a pillow, telling him to either turn off his phone alarm or get up and go. 

Jay groaned into his pillow. He had only fallen asleep at 11pm and for any other reason, he would’ve never made plans at 2am in the fucking morning, but then he remembered what the plans were and he sat up, yawning into his hand. Sunghoon was already back in bed, blankets tossed over his head and Jay stood, quickly gathering his things to change into.

Because it was so early and autumn was just beginning to rear its head, it was going to be quite chilly out. So Jay bundled up and grabbed a thermostat and went to the dorm room lounge to go fill it with some hot coffee before he made his way to Jungwon’s.

The late night air did enough to wake Jay up completely, and soon he was pulling up in front of Jungwon’s house, sending the boy a quick message to let him know that he was there. He only had to wait about a minute before Jungwon came rushing outside, a backpack on his back and looking bundled up and cozy as well. Jay handed him a helmet to put on over his beanie.

“I got blankets in my bag so that we can stay warm.” Jungwon smiled at him, buckling the helmet and climbing onto the back seat, practically snuggling up against Jay’s back. The feeling of it was enough to warm Jay to his core.

“I brought some coffee. It’s in the carrier.” 

“Great, that’ll also help keep us warm.” Jungwon said and Jay waited until he was sure that Jungwon had a good hold on him before restarting the bike and taking off down the quiet, empty street. 

They had decided over messaging the last few days where they would be going. Jungwon had told him there was apparently a nice spot out by the high school, so that’s the way that Jay headed, zooming off down the streets, light on traffic and lit up by lamps in the very cool early morning.

With how few cars were out on the road, it only took Jay ten minutes to get to the location. They’d have to walk up a hill, but the distance wasn’t too far that he wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on his bike. He let Jungwon get off and then grabbed the thermostat and put the helmets away. “Ready to go see some meteors?”

Jungwon smiled, his dimples deepening as he breathed out slightly icy air. “I’m ready.” The younger grabbed Jay’s hand, and even though they were both wearing gloves, it was almost as if Jay could still feel his skin. It gave him the same reaction either way; a heart speeding, reminiscent to how he sped down motorways. 

Once they made it to the top of the hill, Jay took the bag from Jungwon and pulled out two blankets. One he laid on the grass and gestured to Jungwon to take a seat. Once Jungwon was sitting, he took the second and laid it across Jungwon’s shoulders then sat down on the blanket next to him.

“We can share this.” Jungwon told him, clutching the blanket beneath his chin. “I brought it so that we could share it.”

“It’s okay.” Jay replied, shrugging up his jacket and crossing his arms. “I don’t want you to get cold.” 

Jungwon watched him for a moment before scooting even closer to Jay until they were pressed as close as they possibly could be without Jungwon sitting on his lap. The younger boy then wrapped one end of the blanket around Jay who stared down at him, but decided not to argue. 

Jay took the end of the blanket and tugged it closed around him. “Here…” he lifted his arm and wrapped it around Jungwon beneath the blanket, pulling him even closer so that the blanket covered the both of them fully. “Better. Do you want something to drink?”

The teenager hummed, covering his mouth with the blanket as he glanced up at the sky. “Not yet. I’m pretty comfortable.” Though Jay couldn’t see his mouth, he could see the way Jungwon’s eyes crinkled at the edges and his dimples became more prominent. 

He was smiling.

Jay turned to look up at the dark sky, the stars somewhat visible in this area due to the fact they were facing away from the city. “You said it should be about 3am right?” He asked, checking his watch as Jungwon nodded against his shoulder. “So we have about thirty minutes.” 

“And this is okay?” Jungwon asked, half of his face covered by the blanket and his hat. “I know it’s really cold. Thank you for doing this by the way. It’s not often you get to go see an actual meteor shower.”

“I don’t mind.” Jay assured him, absentmindedly stroking his thumb along Jungwon’s arm. When he realized what he was doing, he wondered if he should stop, but Jungwon said nothing, and so Jay continued, finding a strange comfort in it. 

After a minute, Jungwon grabbed the thermos, pouring himself a little coffee that was still steaming as it hit the cold air. He drank it slowly and then held it out to Jay. “Want some?” 

Jay was tempted to ask him if he minded drinking from the same cup as him, but clearly Jungwon didn’t, since he was the one offering and Jay silently took the cup, sipping at it as well. 

Jungwon shifted, pulling the blanket tighter, but not seeming to get comfortable as he sighed. Jay blinked and then had an idea. “Uh--don’t thank this wrongly or weirdly, but maybe you can sit between my legs and we can wrap the blanket that way? I promise not to touch you.”

The younger looked up at him, appearing to think it over before he finally nodded and crawled in between Jay’s legs. Jay swallowed tightly, holding the coffee to the side so that he didn’t spill it. Once Jungwon was settled, Jay recapped the coffee and set it aside, taking the blanket to extend around his back and wrap all the way around Jungwon who was so close his back was almost touching Jay’s chest. 

“How’s this?” He asked, his voice whispering, as if there were people around he might bother with his speaking.

“It’s nice.” Jungwon murmured and then he leaned back into Jay’s chest, his head resting against his shoulder, hair tickling at Jay’s chin. 

Jay blinked, looking down at him in surprise, but he couldn’t deny that he liked the feeling of Jungwon nestled against him and he so he closed the blankets around the two of them even tighter, looking up into the stars.

“Look,” Jungwon pointed up towards the sky. “Do you see that bright star? Right about there… it’s brighter than the others.” He turned his head a little, looking to see if Jay was following along.

“I think so.” Jay told him. “Near those other two right?”

Jungwon hummed and nodded, dropping his arms back beneath the blankets. “That’s actually Uranus. The best time to see it here is about 12:50am, but it’s still visible until it sets… Venus will be visible in awhile too. I just wanted to show you.”

“Wow,” Jay breathed out, his arms tightening around Jungwon without really realizing. “I didn’t know planets looked so much like stars in the sky.”

“Because of the sun.” Jungwon explained. “They reflect light like the moon does. Planets aren’t as big as stars, but because they’re so much closer, they appear the same size as the stars. And the moon is even closer, so instead when it reflects the light, we can see it for what it is.”

“And what is it?” Jay asks, leaning his head even closer towards Jungwon, the soft, sweet smell of melon surrounding him. 

“The moon?” Jay nodded. “Well, one thought is that something hit earth a very long time ago. Pieces of it and pieces of the earth’s crust shot out into space and came together to form our moon, and now it orbits us. So the moon in part, is just an extension of earth. Without the earth, the moon wouldn’t even exist, but without the moon, the earth would cease to function in the way that we need it to.”

“Sounds like they’re meant to be together.” Jay murmured, staring up at the bright moon that hung high above them in the sky. 

“I think it’s comforting.” Jungwon continued and Jay felt hands lay across his beneath the blanket. “That two celestial creations need each other in order to continue to function. Somewhat like soulmates, if the moon and the earth had souls.”

Jay eyed him, his eyes searching over the side of Jungwon’s face, taking in the way his nose and cheeks were dusted pink from the chill of the night air. Jungwon pouted out his lips, bubbling his cheeks as he continued to look up into the sky and the sight of it made Jay want to keep his arms wrapped around him forever, to protect him. 

“Do you believe in soulmates?” Jay asked, his voice kept at a murmur to not disturb the night.

  
Jungwon bit down on his lip and then shifted a little, turning to look at Jay, meeting his gaze. His eyes a dark brown that Jay found himself easily getting lost in. “I think so. I’d like to at least.” He replied, his eyes trailing downwards until Jungwon was closing them, sucking on his lower lip. “Do you?” He questioned back, his eyes still closed.

Jay let out a slow, somewhat shaky breath. “I think I’m starting to.” Jungwon opened his eyes, lids a little heavy and lashes fluttering against his cheek and Jay swallowed tightly at the sight. He lifted his hand from beneath the blanket and deftly removed his glove before pressing his hand, warm still from the fabric against the chilled cheek of Jungwon. 

The younger boy was trembling a little beneath his touch. Jay didn’t know if it was from the cold or the fright, but he tightened the blanket even tighter around them, stroking his thumb along the apple of Jungwon’s cheek.

“Do you dislike this?” he asked, staring deeply into Jungwon’s eyes, wanting to make sure that he wasn’t crossing any boundaries he shouldn’t.

Jungwon took in a deep breath and then shook his head, closing his eyes tightly as if he were waiting for something to happen. Jay couldn’t help but chuckle at the adorable sight and then he pressed his fingers beneath Jungwon’s chin, lifting his face up just enough so that he could glance over his features, lit only by the light of the moon and stars.

“Stop me if you change your mind…” Jay says lightly and then leans in, his eyes falling ship as he presses his lips to Jungwon’s. They’re both still for a moment, Jay’s fingers poised beneath Jungwon’s chin and then the younger boy is leaning into it, moving more firmly into the kiss.

Jay drops his hand from his chin to his shoulder, holding him closer, their lips moving softly and slowly against one another’s. Jungwon grasps at Jay’s jacket, shifting until he’s half-way turned around in Jay’s embrace, the fingers of his other hand dancing along his chin.

And then they’re pulling apart, the both of them breathing a little heavier. Jay opens his eyes, watching as Jungwon’s flutters, still mostly closed until they’re once again open and peering up at him with shine that’s brighter than the stars themselves.

“W-wow…” Jay breathed out, blinking because he’s shocked and breathless and amazed at what just happened. Jungwon gives his own little breathy laugh, his fingers relaxing against Jay’s jacket until they’re resting against his chest.

“Wow indeed.” Jungwon says, a smile on his face as he licks over his lips and leans heavily against Jay. The older of the two holds him and then he hears Jungwon’s gasp and follows his gaze upwards, his own mouth gaping as he watched as something bright streaked across the sky.

Then it was closely followed by another and then another. Jungwon sat in front of him, gasping and murmuring about what was happening, his voice full of quiet excitement. 

“It’s beautiful…” Jungwon exhaled.

“Yeah, it is.” Jay agreed, but he was only looking at Jungwon. 

\--

“Thank you for bringing me tonight.” Jungwon stated as he slowly climbed off of Jay’s motorbike in front of his house, handing him back the helmet. “I don’t think there’s anyone else I would’ve rather witnessed that with.” 

“Yeah…” Jay leans against the handlebars slightly and smiles. “I’m glad you asked me and that I got to experience it with you too.”

Jungwon tightened his hands around the straps of his bag, raising his shoulders as he smiled across at the older and before Jay could even react, Jungwon had stepped forward and leaned in, pressing a quick, soft kiss to Jay’s lips. 

He then pulled back, leaving Jay looking at him with wide eyes and slight shock written across his face before he realized--yeah, this is their relationship now, isn’t it? Never would Jay have expected he would end up in a relationship with his ultimate rival’s little brother.

Not that he was complaining.

“Drive home safely and… text me when you get to your dorm so that I know you did.” Jungwon told him and Jay looked him over before nodding. The younger beamed and let out a happy laugh. “Okay, well… goodnight, Jay hyung.” He gave a small wave and turned, heading towards the door.

“Goodnight,” Jay called back, trying to keep his voice quiet to not wake up the neighborhood. “Jungwonie.” 

The boy turned back, shooting him a wide smile, his face pink from either the cold or shyness, perhaps both. He then disappeared inside, quietly closing the door behind him.

Jay sat there for a moment longer, just watching the now silent house before he started up his motorbike and sped back towards his dorm.

The next few days felt like a… whirlwind, although even that word seemed to lack the necessary impact to fully satisfy Jay as a description. Though they were both busy with their own school work, Jay (and he was fairly certain Jungwon as well) could not be pulled away from his phone.

He knew this because Sunghoon had literally tried to grab it out of his hand once and it had just not worked out very well for Sunghoon.

There were at least a few thousand messages between the two of them by the time Jay was to head back over to Heeseung’s to finish up their project. Heeseung gave him a knowing, if not slightly warning, look and let him inside the house and Jay’s head was automatically turning right and left to see if Jungwon was around.

“He’s upstairs finishing his homework.” Heeseung told him, handing Jay a soda who took it and thanked him. Heeseung wasn’t so bad, and he figured if he was to be dating his little brother, it was probably for the best of everyone that Jay get over his little… one-sided rivalry he had going with the guy. “He said he’d come down as soon as he’s done so we should just get to work.”

Jay looked towards the stairs and then sighed. He really only wanted to go see Jungwon, but he agreed, knowing that it was for the best that neither of them sacrifice their school work for this new, budding relationship. Besides, he could talk to Jungwon later.

He  _ would  _ talk to Jungwon later.

‘Later’ came after about an hour or so when Jay heard footsteps hurrying down the staircase and then saw Jungwon slide to a stop next to the couch as Jay and Heeseung were working on putting together their report.

“Hi,” Jungwon breathed out as if he had been running, and by the sounds of it, it seemed like he had.

Jay smiled up at him. “Hey,”

Between them, Heeseung looked back and forth before he cleared his throat and stood up. “I’m going to go to the kitchen and make myself… a sandwich or something.” He looked at them both a moment longer before excusing himself.

Jungwon watched him before turning back to Jay and grabbing his hand. “Come with me.” Jungwon stated and then before Jay could say anything, he was tugged off the couch and up the stairs.

The younger was surprisingly strong, at least until Jay remembered that he was a blackbelt in taekwondo and then he gulped, making a mental note that it wasn’t Heeseung he’d ever have to worry about should he hurt Jungwon.

It was Jungwon himself.

Suddenly, Jay was pushed into a room and upon looking around, it was clearly Jungwon’s bedroom. Against the opposite wall was a desk covered in books, papers and a laptop. The window just slightly cracked to let in a small stream of cool air. Bookshelves full of books and albums were pressed against the wall by Jungwon’s closet, the walls covered in posters of bands and athletes, while in the middle of his bed sat the cat plushie that Jungwon had named ‘Jay’.

Jungwon closed the door behind himself and leaned against it, staring directly at him with a small smile.

Jay shifted where he stood, a small amount of shyness starting to bubble inside of himself. Jungwon’s gaze was sharp and intelligent. Jay could sense a lot of thinking behind his eyes. 

“What?” He asked, clearing his throat to try and clear himself of any awkwardness.

“Nothing… just looking.” Jungwon smiled and then walked over, taking Jay’s hand and pulling him down onto the edge of his bed. Jay tried to ignore how comfortable the mattress was.

“Did you finish your homework?” Jay asked after a moment, glancing over at the desk. Jungwon gave a small hum and nodded.

“I finished it. I actually finished it awhile ago but I was trying to give you more time to work on your project… I decided that I couldn’t wait anymore.” He let out a little laugh, scratching at his neck.

“Well, I’m glad you came to interrupt me.” Jay told him, watching as Jungwon seemed to relax all at once and then the other looked at him, biting his lip for a moment. “What is it?” Jay asked, lifting a brow because it was clear Jungwon had something on his mind.

“I just--” he took in a deep breath and then let it out all at once as he leaned in, pressing his lips to Jay’s.

Jay stilled, surprised, but then relaxed and closed his eyes, gripping the back of Jungwon’s head as he returned the kiss. It was the first kiss they had shared since that night beneath the stars and as Jay indulged himself in it, he could feel the slight hesitance from Jungwon; it was clear the younger wasn’t sure how to move his lips or where to put his hands and Jay couldn’t help but pull back, giving a small laugh.

“I’m bad at this, I know.” Jungwon jutted out his lips into a pout, his hands wringing at Jay’s shirt.

“No, you’re not bad at it--”

“I’ve never done it before.” Jungwon told him and before Jay could ask him if that meant he had never kissed his girlfriend, Jungwon leaned back in and kissed him once again, wiping the thought from Jay’s mind.

They kissed for a few more moments, their fingers clutching at each other before they both pulled back to catch their breath. Jay looked at Jungwon, chuckling as he noticed the way his hair was mussed up and his lips were red.

Jungwon blinked at the laugh and Jay reached forward, stroking his fingers through his hair to fix it. The younger boy smiled softly and leaned into his hand. 

Jay felt a fluttering in his stomach and breathed out slowly, dropping his hand back down between them onto the bed. “I didn’t expect this.”

“Expect me to pull you up here to kiss you?” Jungwon asked, looking slightly teasing and mischievous.

“Well, that too.” Jay laughed, his head nodding. “Mm… to like you so much.” He replied, sliding his hand over to place atop of Jungwon’s to let him know that this wasn’t a bad thing.

“I brought you up here,” Jungwon began as he intertwined their fingers. “To make sure this was real and not just something that I made up in my head.”

“If you made it up in your head, then I guess I must have to.”

Jungwon’s smile widens and he squeezes Jay’s hand who feels warmth spread from the tips of his fingers, down his veins, and throughout his entire body. “So I can call you…” Jungwon looks at him carefully. “My boyfriend?”

Jay can’t begin to hold back his grin. “I like the sound of that so… I suppose it's okay if you call me that.” He leans in, lifting his free hand to tap at Jungwon’s nose before he presses a peck against his lips. “You’re really cute.” He said after the younger boy began giggling.

“I can also be very not cute.” Jungwon lifted his brows with a small smirk. “I’ll let you figure out if that’s dangerous or not.”

Jay cleared his throat. “I’m pretty sure no matter what you meant, that’s dangerous.”

Jungwon tossed his head back, laughing and it really was a beautiful sound. “I should let you get back to your project. I just wanted to talk to you privately. And kiss you.” He added on as an afterthought. “I didn’t want to kiss you around Heeseung hyung.”

“Yeah, I appreciate that.” Jay didn’t really want to kiss Jungwon around Heeseung hyung either.

“You know…” Jungwon grasped at Jay’s hand, playing with his fingers. “I’m really happy, hyung.” He let out a slightly disbelieving, but happy, laugh. “Didn’t think someone so cool like you could like me.”

“It’s pretty easy to like you…” Jay admitted, looking down at their hands. “Even if you are my rival’s little brother.” Jungwon sniggered and Jay grinned back.

He had a feeling this was the beginning to something great.

\--

To say that the weeks that followed were some of the happiest that Jay had experienced would be an understatement. 

There was something about being around Jungwon that filled Jay with a joy unlike anything he even believed was possible. The way Jungwon fit in his arms, the sound of his laugh, the feel of his lips. Even when his and Heeseung’s project was over, he found himself spending more and more time at his house, but usually it was spent with Jungwon, playing video games and laughing.

Although he was starting to get along with Heeseung a bit better as well. Just a bit. 

They also went out a lot. Jungwon seemed to love just driving around on Jay’s motorbike, even though it was starting to get colder. Jungwon was always excited to cling to him, pressing against his back as Jay drove them around to nowhere in particular. They went up to the hills a lot, to places that people didn’t often go.

Somewhere they could be alone with each other and in nature, discovering new places. Three am on weekends just laying on the grass, looking at the stars, bundled up in as warm of clothes as they could with blankets tight around them; it was a surprise neither of them had gotten sick.

Jay would also often find himself helping Jungwon with his homework. He was finishing his final year of school and would be joining them at the same university the following year. Jay tried not to show how much he was looking forward to that as he helped the younger with his English homework.

It was on one such day, a few weeks after their relationship began, that Jay sat in Jungwon’s room, helping him with his homework.

Well, ‘homework’ was probably the wrong word considering their books were pushed on the floor and Jay had his arm wrapped tightly around Jungwon’s waist, holding him to him as they slowly kissed. 

Yeah, this was just so much better than homework.

Jay made sure to keep it fairly tame. All hands above the waist, usually in Jungwon’s hair and between his shoulder blades. The hardest part wasn’t actually controlling himself, it was controlling Jungwon who seemed to keep trying to kiss a little bit deeper, his hands always tending to wander a little more south than they should.

A few times Jay had to pull back and capture Jungwon’s hands, pat them, and place them back on his shoulders. Jungwon would just smile innocently and Jay could feel himself grow weak to those smiles, but not weak enough to let Jungwon run wild as he so pleased.

He was pretty sure if he let Jungwon run wild, he might never be able to catch him.

“Okay…” Jay breathed out between kisses, having to turn his head away to get Jungwon stop following his lips. “You still have homework to do and it’s getting late.” He murmured, watching Jungwon as the younger sneaked one last peck against his lips. 

“You’re right…” Jungwon pouted and then let out a breath, sitting up as he started fixing his hair. “I get caught up when you’re around.”

“I could always stop coming around.” Jay teased and Jungwon shot him a playful glare. 

“Better not.” Jungwon then smiled and stretched, standing up. “I’ll be right back, okay? Going to the bathroom.” Jungwon squeezed Jay’s hand and then dropped it. Jay told him alright and he watched as Jungwon disappeared out of the bedroom and into the hall.

He leaned back on the bed, looking up at the ceiling as he smiled, thinking about how lucky he was to have had Jungwon come into his life. At this point, it was starting to get hard to imagine his life without Jungwon in it. 

His phone dinged, signaling a text and he picked it up from the table where it sat next to Jungwon’s and went to reply. After replying, Jay relaxed on Jungwon’s bed. He scrolled through his phone aimlessly, liking posts from his friends as he waited for his boyfriend to return, comfortable on top of the covers and enjoying the crisp air blowing in from the cracked window in the otherwise hot room.

From the bedside table, Jungwon’s phone buzzed. Jay ignored it, concentrating on his own phone, but then it buzzed again, the vibrations knocking a pen off the table and to the ground. Jay reached over to pick it up, pausing as he got a look at the screen of the boy’s phone, the message notification shining brightly in clear view.

He could feel his insides grow cold just as the phone went dark, the messages disappearing from view and he slowly sat up just as the door opened and in came Jungwon with a smile, softly closing the door behind him. 

“Sorry I took so long, hyung.” Jungwon stated, going over to plop back down onto the bed next to Jay. Jay didn’t react, instead continuing to stare at the floor in front of him, trying to keep himself from shaking, quelling the hot feeling that was beginning to bubble up in his stomach. “Are you okay?” Jungwon asked, his voice clearly concerned.

Jay took in a breath and then turned to look at him, eyes hard. “What’s the bet?”

There was a visible and audible pause as Jungwon both stopped breathing for a moment and stilled, appearing almost as if some sort of long-standing marble statue until he blinked and gave a small, slightly shaky, smile. “Bet?”

Jay looked at him with a raised brow, silently telling Jungwon to note lie. “‘I guess you win this bet? I can’t believe you actually got him to fall for you’?”

Jungwon took in a sharp breath, his eyes wide and trembling. “You read my messages?” He asked, his fingers clutching at the blanket.

Jay gave a slight scoff. “I didn’t read your messages, you got messages and they popped up on the screen. What the hell does that mean, Jungwon?” Jungwon reached out, trying to grab at his hand and Jay jerked it away. “Answer the question.”

“Okay--I…” Jungwon seemed to be trying to figure out what to say, stumbling a little over his words and Jay rolled his eyes and got up. “Wait!” He grabbed hold of the bottom of his shirt. “Okay, technically I made a ‘bet’, but it wasn’t really a bet! And not anything at all like what you’re probably thinking… just let me explain?”

“Let you explain?” Jay asked incredulously, his voice tight as he stepped back, tugging himself from Jungwon’s grasp. “You made me into some sort of fucking bet like those stupid movies?”

“I-I didn’t…” He stuttered, staring up at Jay with eyes wide and slightly glassy, his worry shining through. He was pretty much begging Jay to let him explain, but Jay in all honesty didn’t want to hear it. 

“I can’t listen to this right now.” He shook his head and picked up his bag, starting towards the door. 

“No, wait!” Jungwon hopped up from the bed and quickly made it to the door, pressing back against it just as Jay wrapped his hand around the doorknob. Jungwon stared up at him with pleading eyes. “Please, Jay hyung…”

Jay stared at him for a moment, his heart clenching painfully and then he gritted his teeth, tugging the door open which forced Jungwon away from the door. He then quickly ran out before Jungwon could catch up. 

He just couldn’t deal with this. Not right now. 

He didn’t think he had the strength.

\--

“You need to get up.” Sunghoon said from above him and Jay groaned, keeping his pillow tightly over his face as if he were trying to smother himself. And maybe a part of him was. It wouldn’t be so bad, would it? To just smother himself to the point of passing out and then wake up and discover that this entire thing had been some sort of strange nightmare?

Cuz really… what had he been thinking, falling for Lee Heeseung’s, his ultimate rival since childhood, younger brother? 

It had to be a nightmare, because there was no way he would actually in any way attach himself to that family in real life. 

“Leave me alone…” He grumbled, voice muffled beneath the pillow so that it sounded more like ‘leemee own’, but he figured that got his point across anyway. 

Perhaps Sunghoon didn’t really care about his point, however, because the pillow was suddenly tugged away from his face and tossed across the room, smacking into a lamp and almost knocking it onto the floor. They both stayed silent, watching as the lamp teetered until it finally stabilized against the wall. 

Sunghoon took in a deep breath and turned back towards Jay. Jay tried not to gulp. Sunghoon could be scary when he wanted to be. “I know what happened is a lot. I know it must suck and it must hurt and I don’t entirely know what you’re feeling, but I’ve gone through my few fair share of breakups with Jake, and even though we always get back together, it always fucking hurts.”

Jay did always kind of wonder what went through Sunghoon’s mind in those moments. Every time Sunghoon acted like it was the last time, their relationship over, and he would move on to bigger and better things.

He and Jake usually always got back together by the end of the week. 

“However, though I totally empathize with you, you have been lying in bed for days. You’ve barely eaten, and more importantly for me, you’ve barely showered and you’re starting to smell.” Sunghoon grabbed the foot of the blanket and started pulling at it. Jay grasped it as tightly as he could to stop him but Sunghoon gave it one sharp tug and sent it, as well as Jay, falling to the floor. “So get your ass up, go clean up, and eat something before I get a hose and flood the damn dorm room while shoving a burger down your throat.”

And then Sunghoon grabbed his bag and left, slamming the door behind him. 

Jay watched as he exited and then sighed, flopping down onto his back on the floor and staring up at the ceiling. Was he really letting some boy not even graduated yet affect him like this? Yes… yes, he was, and the idea made him want to punch himself, but he really wasn’t all that strong even if he looked cool with his motorbike and fashion.

Jungwon was the athlete after all. Jay was just a big, bumbling dork. It was no wonder Jungwon didn’t actually like him and just used him for some stupid bet.

A bet? Really? Jay couldn’t believe his life had suddenly turned into some damn cliche movie.

There was a knock at the door and Jay lifted his head, staring at it. Had Sunghoon forgotten his key? Another knock and Jay flopped back down before groaning and pushing himself. 

He was just in his boxers, but it was probably just Sunghoon so it should be okay--

It was not Sunghoon. It was Jungwon.

Jungwon blinked at the sight of him and quickly lifted his eyes up and away, a pink tint painting his cheeks. Jay quickly closed the door halfway, blocking himself with the door. 

“Thought you were Sunghoon…” Jay grumbled in embarrassment. Jungwon just hummed, scratching at his head as he avoided looking at Jay.

“Can… can I talk to you, hyung? Please?” Jay was tempted to say no and just close the door on him and be done with it, but upon seeing the way Jungwon was chewing on his lips and nervously twisting his fingers, he felt himself grow a little weak and sigh.

“Just… gimme a minute, okay?” Jungwon nodded and Jay shut the door, quickly picking his blanket and pillow up to lay as neatly over his bed as he possibly could without actually making it. He straightened the lamp and then grabbed a pair of jeans from the floor to tug them on along with a t-shirt. He then picked up an almost empty bottle of airspray and sprayed it amongst the room to make it smell better. He let it linger for about thirty seconds before he went back to the door, took in a breath, and opened it. “Come in, I guess.”

Jay opened the door wider and Jungwon stepped inside. Jay slowly closed the door behind him, shutting out the noise of the dorm hall.

The younger boy looked around, turning his head to take in his surroundings. “So this is your dorm…” Right. Because Jungwon hadn’t gotten to see it yet. 

“How’d you find out which room I’m in?” Jay asked, going to sit on his bed. He gestured towards the desk so Jungwon knew he could sit there. The boy pulled the chair out and slowly sat down.

“Heeseung hyung got it from your roommate.” Jungwon answered, pressing his hands against his knees as he took in a deep breath. “I know that’s probably overstepping but I… I needed to talk to you and you kinda… blocked my number.”

Jay sniffed and scratched his chin. “Yeah, I did.”

Jungwon sucked on his lower lip and then puffed his cheeks out in that way he did. That way that Jay had always found to be one of the cutest habits that Jungwon had. It made him want to reach forward and poke at his cheeks.

He clenched his fingers into his blanket and held back. “You wanted to talk to me? You’re here so… talk.” 

“Okay, well…” Jungwon hesitated, seeming to try to find the right words. Eventually, he seemed to figure it out and squared his shoulders, sitting up straighter. “You can technically say you were a bet, but not how you think.”

Jay breathed in sharply, feeling a harsh stab to his gut. “No? And what other way is there?”

“The truth is… well the truth is I lied.” Jungwon said quickly, closing his eyes tightly. Jay just stared at him because he didn’t know what to say to that at all. But it certainly didn’t feel good to hear. “I lied that first day I met you--well, you met me. Because I already knew who you were and I… didn’t actually have a girlfriend.”

A pause. “What?” Jay asked in confusion, sitting forward as he recalled that first day, Jungwon running into the house crying. “So that was… fake?” He could feel the bubbling of anger well up inside of his chest.

“Yes.” Jungwon opened his eyes, looking at him. “And I’m so sorry, I just… wanted an excuse to talk to you and I had heard from Heeseung hyung about how nice you were and I figured maybe if I seemed upset I could get you to come… comfort me? And you did.”

A vein in Jay’s temple throbbed as he listened to this, trying to make it all make sense in his head. But it just  _ wasn’t _ . “Okay, let’s go backwards. Why the hell did you want me to comfort you?”

Jungwon breathed in and held it for a moment. “I knew who you were already. We had actually met. I’m kinda surprised you don’t remember since you clearly remember seeing me at taekwondo meets but back when you were still in school, just before you graduated, there was one. And I lost. And I was upset and you bumped into me and you only said a few words to me; ‘you did well’, but it made me feel so good. And then after that for the few weeks before graduation, I just kind of noticed you. You were so cool, older, but also you just seemed really--well, goofy and nice and you and Sunghoon hyung were always hanging around each other and Heeseung hyung always said he wished he could be your friend, but you didn’t seem to like him.”

It was a lot of information and at the moment, the only thing Jay could really think about was the fact that Heeseung had apparently wanted to be his friend for a long time. Jay felt sort of bad about how much he hated the guy. 

He stayed silent and let Jungwon continue.

“But then you graduated and since you and Heeseung hyung weren’t friends, I never really got to see you again… until a few weeks ago when Heeseung hyung said you’d be coming over to do your project and I just--I got so excited.” Jungwon explained, leaning forward in his seat as he stared at Jay, desperate for him to hear his explanation. “I got so excited because this was my chance. But I was scared, so my friend, Ni-Ki, came up with this stupid idea to get you to approach me first maybe. I didn’t think it would work, but it did and it gave me all the confidence I needed to ask you out. You kind of gave me a good opening, actually. And then I just had so much fun with you and you clearly had so much fun with me… the bet thing was just Ni-Ki teasing me to encourage me. ‘Oh I bet you’ll never get him to fall for you’, sort of thing… it wasn’t an actual bet. That’s what I was trying to say.” And then Jungwon stopped, holding his breath as he seemed to get out everything that he had wanted to say.

Jay just sat there, his mind whirling with all the information he had just been told, trying to absorb it all, but somewhere, he could feel his anger at Jungwon begin to fade away. 

“So, you liked me?” Jay asked and Jungwon nodded. “Wanted to approach me, but was too scared so you came up with a stupid plan to get me to approach you first instead?” Jungwon nodded again. “And the bet thing was literally just one of those stupid, oh I bet you can’t climb that tree to the top, things?” And once more Jungwon nodded. 

Jay let out a slow breath, blinking his eyes wide. “Kid, you’re something else.”

Jungwon gave a sort of watery laugh, but there was a lack of humor. It was more filled with worry and Jay could sense that. He sighed and patted the bed beside him. Jungwon quickly got up and sat next to him. 

Jay glanced over his face, eyes trailing to Jungwon’s lips where his bottom was completely red and swollen from the amount of biting that Jungwon had been doing against it. Jay tsked and reached up, brushing his thumb against the bitten lip. “You shouldn’t be doing that you know.” 

The younger seemed to relax against his touch and gave a small nod. “I know. I’ve felt so ill the last few days that you wouldn’t talk to me. You’re going to unblock my number, right?”

Jay almost wanted to laugh as he lifted a hand to the top of Jungwon’s head, ruffling his hair. “God… you really could’ve just talked to me instead of doing all that, you know? I’m not scary.”

“Well, no,” Jungwon agreed and Jay groaned dramatically, grasping at his chest as if betrayed. “But at first you are a little intimidating. You just seemed so cool. I didn’t know that you weren’t.”

“Okay,  _ ouch _ ,” Jay laughed and then wrapped an arm around Jungwon, pulling him into his chest. Jungwon grasped at his shirt and hugged him tightly, clinging as if he had no plans of letting go. “I forgive you.”

Jungwon let out a shaky breath and buried his head into Jay’s shoulder, his smaller body trembling against Jay’s. Jay lightly rubbed his back, sighing softly as he looked at the wall opposite.

“But…” He began and he could feel Jungwon stiffen in his arms before slowly pulling back to look up at him. “I want to be just friends for now, okay?” Jungwon looked down at their laps, his fingers tightening against Jay’s shirt even more.

“Did I… ruin things forever?” He asked, his voice soft and quiet. 

Jay looked at him and then shook his head. “No, not forever.”

**Epilogue, March of the Next School Year**

“What the hell do you have in this anyway? Fuck…” Jay cursed out as he lugged a huge, heavy box into Sunghoon and Jake’s new apartment, dropping it just inside the entrance to the living area. Jay leaned against the wall, panting.

Sunghoon let out a breath, placing his hands on his hips as he caught his own breath. “Your casket.” He said nonchalantly before walking out the door and back into the hall to grab the next box.

Jay stood there against the wall, just blinking at Sunghoon’s answer because a part of him almost believed it.

“Thanks for helping, by the way.” Jake said as he dropped a few boxes next to the one that Jay had brought in. “My dad already spent so much money on this place for me, I kind of felt bad asking for movers too.” Jake rubbed his neck, looking a little sheepish.

“It’s fine.” Jay shrugged, giving his best friend’s boyfriend a pat on the shoulder. Jake was a nice guy and he considered them friends as well, so he really didn’t mind. “I am a little envious though and I expect a bomb house-warming party, yeah?” Jay grinned and then walked out into the hall, swinging his arms around Sunghoon and Jungwon who stood conversing with each other. “Getting lazy?”

“We’re not you.” Jungwon teased his boyfriend and Jay narrowed his eyes playfully before quickly wrapping Jungwon up into his arms, the other automatically giggling.

“Okay, well know making out in the hall, you never know who might come around.” Sunghoon warned before picking up the next box to bring into the apartment. Jay watched as he disappeared inside and then turned Jungwon around in his arms, linking his hands behind his back.

Jungwon smiled up at him, his dew drop shaped eyes sparkling brightly, reminding Jay of the stars that sparkled in the sky during their second ‘date’. 

“So you know…” Jay began, lifting a hand to brush through Jungwon’s hair. “I need a new roommate now that Jake stole Sunghoon from me. 

  
The younger and new college freshman slowly grinned before glancing around and leaning up, pressing a soft peck to Jay’s lips. “If you’re asking me to move in with you, I say yes, but we need some ground rules to make sure you don’t try any funny business.” He teased and Jay laughed, tugging him back towards his chest.

“Is this funny business?” Jay asked, raising his brows as he watched Jungwon’s breath catch in his throat, the read spread across his cheeks to his ears. 

And then they kissed and Jay felt that maybe moons, meteors, and stars had nothing on Jungwon. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
